February 12, 2013

Hello Arroyo Partners:

It is the middle of February and the Rio Grande Valley has not received any significant rainfall at all. I attended several meetings recently and according to NOAA the drought forecast looks bleak with no end in sight for 2013. Barring a tropical storm or Hurricane this summer, the water levels at Falcon and Amistad will drop to critical management levels. Officials are predicting that 13 Irrigation Districts are in danger of running out of water by June. If the irrigations districts do run out of water, it would make it very difficult to deliver water to municipalities. Some cities in the watershed are already considering implementing level/stage 3 of their water management plans in light of the bleak forecasts. The farmers/producers in the watershed are trying to decide what to plant or whether to plant anything at all knowing that they will only have one irrigation allotted for the whole year. I think that if all of the stakeholders in the watershed work together, they can figure out a way to get through the drought. There were some great ideas being discussed at the Water Summit. It will take some cooperation and innovative ideas and technology but it can be done.

I want to remind everyone that the ACWP will be holding two of their Work Group meetings in February.

The Arroyo Colorado Habitat Workgroup meeting will be held on February 21, from 2-4 pm at the Estero Llano Grande World Birding Center located at 3301 S. FM 1015. We will be discussing the Ramsey Park wetland project and the Rio Hondo grit/grease trap processing project.

The Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership will be hosting an Arroyo Colorado Steering Committee meeting on February 21, from 5-7 pm. Food and refreshments will be served from 4:30-5:00 pm. The meeting will be held at The Estero Llano Grande World Birding Center located at 3301 S. FM 1015.

Both meetings will be held at Pauraque Hall in the rear of the park.

I would like to make a big announcement. The Arroyo Colorado Conservancy is hosting a “Save the Arroyo” Fiesta. The Fiesta will be a membership drive/fundraising event. The ACC has partnered with Dargel Boats to hold a boat raffle as part of the Fiesta. The ACC will raffle off a Dargel 190 Skout w/115HP Evinrude Motor & McClain Trailer. Total package valued at more than $35,000. Tickets are $100 each, and only 500 will be printed. Odds are 1 in 500! The raffle will be drawn at the ACC “Save the Arroyo’ Fiesta to be held at the Dargel Boats Showroom on October 10, 2013. There will be door prizes and a silent auction during the Fiesta leading up to the raffle. I want to ask all of our Arroyo partners to help make this a fun and successful event. We are still looking for sponsors for the event so if you are interested in being a sponsor or know someone who is interested, please have them contact me. I also need your help selling the raffle tickets! For tickets please contact Jaime Flores at 956-495-5532 or jjflores@ag.tamu.edu.

Please mark your calendars for the upcoming event:

- The LRGV-TPDES Storm Water Task Force will be hosting their 15th Annual Lower Rio Grande Valley Storm Water Runoff Management and Planning Conference April 16-20 at the Pearl South Padre Resort, SPI, TX. This conference will introduce current issues related to TPDES storm water regulations, the new TCEQ MS4 TPDES permit, watershed protection plans, floodplain management, low impact development, non-point source pollution, funding, water research topics, and other water quality topics. New this year will be an early session offering a CFM review and exam, and on Saturday, April 20, 2013 the LRGV-TPDES Storm Water Task Force will host a fishing tournament to benefit the Arroyo Colorado Conservancy. Sign up today!

I still have not been able to go fishing and wet a line! Over the last couple of weeks, I have run into several people that read the monthly update. They all made the comment that I have been slacking off in regards to fishing. I told my wife, “I have to go fishing! The public is demanding that I go”. Let see if that works. I did attend the All Valley Boat Show over the weekend. The ACC had a booth next to the CCA-Texas, Rio Grande Valley Chapter. I got to meet several of the fine folks at CCA over the course of the weekend. We talked a lot about fishing and even about possibly working together on some habitat restoration projects for the Arroyo Colorado! I will keep you posted.